Comedy Crumbs: Festival submission, sex advice, and having a few

With the abundance of great things going on in Milwaukee’s burgeoning comedy scene, we rarely go more than a few days without devoting a post or two to recognize someone or something happening that adds to the city’s ever-growing and continually-improving comedic output. Some weeks in particular yield a wealth of occurrences in and around the comedy scene that deserve attention, but don’t necessarily warrant an entire post on their lonesome. Enter Comedy Crumbs, a sporadic new Friday round-up wherein Milwaukee Record collects some of the smaller-but-significant morsels that popped up in local comedy over the course of the week that, alone, might fall through the cracks.

• Milwaukee Comedy announced the date and sites of the Milwaukee Comedy Festival. The 10th annual MCF will take place from August 6 through August 9. Most of the laughs will be confined to the Fest’s usual Next Act Theatre digs, but unlike other years, the event will culminate with a show at Turner Hall (signaling some bigger name acts than in recent years). Submissions for comedians will be accepted starting March 1. Submissions cost $15 for stand-up and $20 for improv/sketch.

• Yesterday marked the launch of Shepherd Express’ “He Said/She Said” podcast, where co-hosts and local comics Tyler Menz (of Local Coverage hosting fame) and Liz Ziner dole out romantic advice in five- or six-minute increments. We can’t attest to either ‘casters level of expertise in matters of the heart or the bedroom, but they’re both damn funny people. I can’t wait to hear Menz talk about pegging and cosplay in the weeks to come. Email questions to them at Sexpress@shepex.com. The dirtier, the better.

• Stand-up comics and Levity Radio co-hosts KC Michelson and Josh Ballew have been churning out installments of their “Having A Few” YouTube series, which captures an opinionated excerpt of a comedian at his or her drunkest moment. The latest “Having A Few” episode is also the most controversial in the young series’ short history, as the always-opinionated funnyman/sci-fi author Patrick Tomlinson drunkenly delves into local church scandals.

• Sammy Arechar isn’t just on the very short list of Milwaukee’s funniest inhabitants, he’s also showing his comedic chops in Wisconsin’s capital city. The 22-year-old phenom has cracked the final 10 in Madison’s Funniest Comic contest, despite the whole not living in Madison thing. Round 3 takes place at comedy Club On State on Wednesday, and the finals are Thursday. Before he conquers Madison (and eventually the world), you can see Arechar perform a set at tonight’s Retro Comedy Show at the Underground Collaborative.